Hippolytus of Rome : And so when the different beast was shown to the blessed prophet Daniel and it was shown that it differed from the others, it is necessary for us to consider that he does not discuss any of the beasts as mere animals, but in a model and image he portrays the kingdoms which have arisen in this world, just as he portrays the beasts destroying humanity. For the Great Sea indicates the whole world, he says; "The four winds of heaven," [Daniel 7:2] which signal the fourfold creation. And so when he says, "I saw four beasts rising from the sea," [Daniel 7:3] he speaks concerning the kingdoms of this world. — Commentary on Daniel 4.2.1-3 Jerome : Verses 2, 3. "And during the night I saw in my vision, and behold, the four winds of heaven strove upon the great sea, and four great beasts were coming up out of the sea, differing from one another." The four winds of heaven I suppose to have been angelic powers to whom the principalities have been committed, in accordance with what we read in Deuteronomy: "When the Most High divided the nations and when He separated the children of Adam, He established the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the angels. For the Lord's portion is His people; Jacob is the line of His inheritance (Deuteronomy 32:8). But the sea signifies this world and the present age, overwhelmed with salty and bitter waves, in accordance with the Lord's own interpretation of the dragnet cast into the sea (Matthew 13:47-50). Hence also the sovereign of all creatures that inhabit the waters is described as a dragon, and his heads, according to David, are smitten in the sea (Psalms 74:13). And in Amos we read: "If he descends to the very depth of the sea, there will I give him over to the dragon and he shall bite him" (Amos 9:3). But as for the four beasts who came up out of the sea and were differentiated from one another, we may identify them from the angel's discourse. "These four great beasts," he says, "are four kingdoms which shall rise up from the earth." And as for the four winds which strove in the great sea, they are called winds of heaven because each one of the angels does for his realm the duty entrusted to him. This too should be noted, that the fierceness and cruelty of the kingdoms concerned are indicated by the term "beasts." — Commentary on Daniel Theodoret of Cyrus : For his part, Nebuchadnezzar sees the image, drawing a lesson in the futility of things of this life and the fact that they are appearances, as the divine apostle asserts, and not realities, there is nothing lasting or stable in them, everything fluid and failing and fading. Daniel, [by contrast], is gazing at a sea, gaining a lesson in the haze of the present life. After all, when a prisoner of war is compelled to see a foreign land, he fittingly learns to recognize the storms and tempests of life. And since the king too was haughty because of his silver, bronze and iron, he is given the mysteries concerning the kingdoms through a statue composed of the very same materials. In this way he perceives the successions of kings and is admonished lest he be removed because of a kingdom liable to swift and sudden change.…He calls life "the sea" since it has those countless and great storms; he calls the changes of regimes "winds," since they act against the very onslaught. For just as the streams rush to the north whenever the south wind blows and the wind is driven southward again when the north wind stirs up the sea, so when the Assyrians obtained dominion over the whole world, they drew all their conquered people to their land; but when the kingdom was handed over to the Persians, there was also a confluence of their subjects to the Persians. And when the Macedonians in turn obtained the scepter, all brought to them twice the usual tribute, except for those to whom they had been previously obedient. And when the Romans acquired command over all nations, everyone rushed to the west and thought nothing of the Macedonians. And the Macedonians themselves were counted now as one of the conquered nations. Quite appropriately then he compares the changes of the wind with the changes of regimes, since the winds drive sailors now this way, now that way. Therefore, he mentioned the four winds, since there were four successions of kingdoms. But he teaches us in what manner the beasts differ among themselves. — COMMENTARY ON Daniel 7:2-3